Lauren Clay’s multi-dimensional installations challenge the viewers’ perception of materiality, space and presence. The artist begins her process by hand-marbling and collaging paper that she then digitally scans and prints at a monumental scale. The floor-to-ceiling environment becomes an illusionary backdrop for Clay’s biomorphic sculptures constructed of oil, paper pulp and plaster on panel. Allusions to Neoclassical architecture suggest a physical setting for these human-scaled forms, while rhythmic, psychedelic curves blur the lines between corporeal and ethereal worlds.
“Clay’s forthcoming installation will be titled, While Sleeping, Watch, a direct reference to a notorious alchemical engraving from the sixteenth century. Heinrich Khunrath’s elaborate illustration known as Amphitheatrum Sapientiae Aeternae, or Alchemist’s Laboratory, is an amalgamation of science and spirituality, rich in symbolism. Deep perspective leads the viewer down a mystical hallway of hidden messages, culminating in a cryptic archway that reads, ‘Dormiens Vigila,’ or ‘While sleeping, be vigilant.’
“Lauren Clay lives and works in Brooklyn. She received a BFA in Painting from Savannah College of Art and Design, and MFA in Painting from Virginia Commonwealth University. Her work has been widely exhibited nationally, including solo exhibitions at Asya Geisberg Gallery, New York; Larissa Goldston Gallery, New York; Whitespace Gallery, Atlanta; Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, Denver; and Savannah College of Art and Design, with site specific installations at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, NY; Arts Brookfield, NY; Art In Buildings, NY; and Paradise City, Seoul, South Korea. Press includes The New York Times, Artforum, Art in America, Artsy, Bomb Magazine, Art F City, The Brooklyn Rail, ArtInfo, Hi Fructose, and the Washington Post. Clay has been an artist in residence at Henry Street Settlement, New York, NY. Her editioned artist book, Subtle Body, published by Small Editions NY, is included in the library collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, and The Brooklyn Museum of Art.”